As Oakland occupiers swarmed and shut down the bay port Wednesday evening as part of the day’s general strike, an unidentified man in a silver Mercedes Benz sedan plowed into the crowd, seriously injuring two protesters. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the driver got stuck at an intersection, saw the green light, got frustrated, and hit the gas. Hordes of activists gave the car a good scuffing, though, surrounding it and banging on the windows. Police reportedly let the driver go.
On-site and Twitter rumors originally alleged that one of the two activists had died. Luckily, this was not the case. Both were taken to the hospital still conscious and suffered leg and ankle injuries that were not life-threatening.
After a daytime peak of over 7,000 marching demonstrators, according to the Oakland police chief, the occupation carried into the early morning hours with a takeover of the Travelers Aid building before police moved in and started making arrests. Demonstrations in downtown Oakland became a riotous scene again as dozens were arrested amid tear gas, smoke grenades, and what appeared to be rubber bullets, or at least “other projectiles.” Protesters reportedly set dumpsters on fire and broke windows, while others urged one another to “remain nonviolent,” chanting “We are Scott Olsen,” in solidarity with the Iraq War veteran critically injured by police at an Occupy Oakland demonstration last week.
Mercedes hits 2 Occupy Oakland protesters [San Francisco Chronicle]
’Occupy Oakland’ protesters, police standoff [ABC Local]
Riot police fire projectiles, arrest dozens of Occupy Oakland protesters [LA Times]
